The present invention relates to a system and a method for navigating a vehicle and to a vehicle equipped with this system.
In order to facilitate the use of vehicles for vehicle users, navigation appliances, i.e. navigation units, are in widespread use. These navigation appliances take away route planning from the vehicle user by computing the shortest, fastest or most convenient route, on the basis of a stored road network, based on the current location of the vehicle equipped with the navigation appliance and the stipulated destination and, in some cases, optionally entered route points (points of interest, POI) and displaying said route to the vehicle user. In particular, traffic rules referring to the road network, for example traveling along one-way streets in only one direction, crossing a roundabout anticlockwise, etc., are also included in the route planning.
Further functions of such navigation appliances are based on the inclusion of realtime information, for example pertaining to the road network or the traffic situation, accessible to the navigation appliance by radio, for example by means of a traffic information service (realtime traffic information, RTTI). If a queue is identified on the route planned by the navigation appliance, for example, then it is possible to look for a new route that bypasses the queue and is therefore faster. Similarly, in the case of a road closure for a road intended to be used according to the planned route, it is possible for alternative routing that bypasses the closed road to be planned. Furthermore, the vehicle user can also be made aware of particular hazards on the planned route, e.g. as a result of black ice, by means of such functions of a navigation appliance.
It is an object of the invention to improve the route planning by a navigation system that, during route planning, takes into consideration vehicle information of the vehicle using the navigation system in the route planning by virtue of traffic rules referring to vehicle information also being included in the route planning. In particular, this is intended to make the use of a system for navigation that has a navigation appliance, i.e. a navigation unit, more convenient and safer.
The system according to the invention for navigating a vehicle according to a first aspect of the invention has an external management unit for storing vehicle information and traffic rules referring to vehicle information, wherein the traffic rules relate in particular to the closure of roads, and a capture unit that has an interface for capturing vehicle information of the vehicle containing at least one vehicle identification number and that is configured to send the captured vehicle information of the vehicle to the management unit. Preferably, the system additionally has a computation module for computing navigation information, configured to also include traffic rules stored on the management unit and referring to vehicle information of the vehicle in the computation of the navigation information, and a navigation unit in the vehicle for outputting navigation information computed by the computation module.
The method according to the invention for navigating a vehicle according to a second aspect of the invention has the following work steps: capturing vehicle information of the vehicle, in particular a vehicle identification number, by means of a capture unit; sending the captured vehicle information of the vehicle to a management unit on which traffic rules referring to vehicle information are stored; storing the captured vehicle information of the vehicle on the management unit; computing navigation information by means of a computation module by taking into consideration the traffic rules stored on the management unit and referring to vehicle information of the vehicle; and outputting the navigation information computed by the computation module by means of a navigation unit in the vehicle.
The vehicle, in particular motor vehicle, according to the invention has a navigation system according to the invention.
A management unit within the context of the invention is an apparatus for filing, in particular storing, and organizing, in particular reading, copying, moving, searching through and/or erasing, information, in particular vehicle information and traffic rules referring to vehicle information. The information is in this case preferably organized and/or linked in a database. The management unit is configured to allow access to the filed information or to send the filed information on request, preferably via a network, in particular the Internet. The management unit is in particular configured as a server or computer center.
A capture unit within the context of the invention is an apparatus for recording, i.e. capturing, information, in particular vehicle information of a vehicle. Preferably, the recording in this case is performed manually or semimanually by the user. The capture unit is in this case configured in particular as an Internet portal, accessible from any computer with an Internet connection, or as a component of a navigation appliance having a user interface. In particular, the user enters the vehicle information of the vehicle in this regard in accordance with an input mask of the Internet portal or of the user interface. Preferably, the capture unit is configured as a camera, so that the vehicle information or at least some of the vehicle information can be recorded visually and, in a preferred configuration, read digitally. More preferably, the recording is performed automatically, in particular if the capture unit is configured as a module of a navigation appliance or of a vehicle and has direct access to vehicle information of the vehicle that is stored in particular in a memory of the vehicle. Alternatively or additionally, the capture unit is configured to capture the vehicle information wirelessly, in particular by means of radio signals, in particular if the vehicle information is filed on integrated circuits, provided in or on the vehicle, in particular in the license plate of the vehicle, that are configured to store and wirelessly send the vehicle information.
A computation module within the context of the invention is an apparatus for computing and/or planning a route based on fundamental inputs by a user. Such fundamental inputs relate in particular to destination, intermediate destinations and/or planning parameters, for example exclusion of a type of road such as freeway or country road, bypassing of villages, distance minimization, time minimization and the like. Furthermore, the computation module needs to be provided with the current location of the vehicle for which the route is intended to be computed, in particular by means of a system for satellite navigation. On the basis of this information, the computation module can compute a route optimized in respect of the planning parameters based on a map of the road network that is available to the computation module, in particular as a result of being filed in a memory. The map of the road network is preferably kept up to date by means of updates.
A navigation unit within the context of the invention is an apparatus for outputting navigation information, i.e. route information of a planned and/or computed route, in a vehicle. The output is implemented in particular by display on a display apparatus, for example a display, or by means of audible instructions that pilot or guide the vehicle user along the computed route. Preferably, the navigation unit is a modular piece of equipment of a vehicle, i.e. simple installation and/or removal is possible. In particular, simple changing from one vehicle to another vehicle is possible, which means that the navigation unit can be used flexibly. More preferably, the navigation unit is permanently integrated in a vehicle, so that it can particularly easily access data in a memory of the vehicle that stores in particular vehicle information, for example engine specifications and/or vehicle registration number.
The invention is based on the approach of filing the vehicle information of a vehicle, for example vehicle registration number and/or engine specification and/or vehicle length and/or width and/or vehicle weight and/or exhaust emissions and/or fuel consumption, etc., on an external management unit, for example a server or a computer center. At the same time, this management unit contains traffic rules or has access to traffic rules relating to vehicle information, i.e. valid only for vehicles that have particular features contained in the vehicle information. The combination of vehicle information and traffic rules referring to vehicle information allows navigation information to be computed, i.e. a route to be planned, that also includes, i.e. takes into consideration, the traffic rules referring to vehicle information of the vehicle. This navigation information is output by a navigation appliance in the vehicle, for example displayed on a display and/or rendered accessible by audible signal.
Such traffic rules referring to vehicle information can comprise, by way of example, the closure of roads for particular vehicle registration numbers at particular times in order to regulate the volume of traffic on particular routes. Such regulation is advantageous particularly in built-up areas with a high density of vehicles. Accordingly, by way of example, vehicles having uneven vehicle registration numbers are not permitted to use a particular road on uneven days such as March 1st, March 3rd, etc., while vehicles having even registration numbers are not permitted to use this particular road on even days such as March 2nd, March 4th, etc. According to another exemplary traffic rule referring to vehicle information, automobiles having exhaust emissions above a stipulated limit are not permitted to use a particular road at particular times of day. In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, such closed roads are graphically marked or indicated on the display of the navigation unit and not taken into consideration in, or excluded from, route planning. In particular, the roads closed on the basis of traffic rules referring to vehicle information may be marked or indicated differently than closed roads that are closed to every road user, i.e. independently of traffic rules referring to vehicle information.
Since such traffic rules referring to vehicle information may be complex and may possibly change frequently, it is therefore advantageous, in a navigation system that also includes such traffic rules referring to vehicle information in the route planning, i.e. the computation of navigation information, to file these traffic rules referring to vehicle information centrally on the management unit, since they can be changed or updated easily and directly there and are available to all users of the navigation system, for example via a communication link, without said users needing to perform an update on their navigation unit in the vehicle.
The invention in particular allows the navigation information on the same starting point to the same destination to turn out differently for different users of the navigation system, i.e. different navigation units output different navigation information in this case, or the navigation information turns out differently for the same user from the same starting point to the same destination at different times.
Overall, the invention allows navigation of a vehicle by taking into consideration traffic rules referring to vehicle information in a simple and reliable manner.
In an advantageous configuration of the system according to the first aspect of the invention, the navigation unit has an interface configured to capture and store the vehicle identification number. This allows the navigation unit to be particularly easily and reliably associated with the vehicle and the traffic rules referring to the vehicle information of the vehicle.
In a further advantageous configuration of the system according to the first aspect of the invention, the navigation unit is configured to set up a communication link to the management unit and in so doing to transmit at least the stored vehicle identification number for identifying the vehicle by means of the management unit. In particular, the navigation unit can set up a wireless communication link to the management unit, for example using a radio standard such as UMTS, HSPA or LTE. This associates the navigation unit with the vehicle and the traffic rules referring to the vehicle information of the vehicle even more easily and reliably.
In a further advantageous configuration of the system according to the first aspect of the invention, the management unit has the computation module, wherein the navigation unit is configured to receive the navigation information computed by the computation module by including the traffic rules referring to vehicle information of the vehicle. This keeps down the demands on the computation power of the navigation appliance, so that inexpensive manufacture is possible. At the same time, it is possible to design the computation module of the management unit in complex fashion and to ensure a high computation power. Therefore, the navigation information to be computed can be computed particularly efficiently and quickly by including traffic rules referring to vehicle information. Central updates of the traffic rules referring to vehicle information, which updates need only be performed once, ensure particularly reliable navigation for a vehicle by including traffic rules referring to vehicle information of the vehicle.
In a further advantageous configuration of the system according to the first aspect of the invention, the navigation unit has the computation module and is configured to receive the traffic rules stored by the management unit and referring to vehicle information of the vehicle. This keeps down the data traffic via the communication link between navigation unit and management unit as far as possible, since only single roads affected by traffic rules referring to vehicle information of the vehicle, and the applicable traffic rules, need to be sent to the navigation appliance.
In a further advantageous configuration of the system according to the first aspect of the invention, the capture unit is configured to capture a vehicle registration number as vehicle identification number or to capture a vehicle registration number as vehicle information besides the vehicle identification number. This allows in particular traffic rules referring to the vehicle registration number of a vehicle to be taken into consideration for computing the navigation information. Furthermore, it is a particularly simple matter for the management unit, using the vehicle registration number as vehicle identification number, to identify a particular vehicle in order to assign it the applicable traffic rules referring to the vehicle.
In a further advantageous configuration of the system according to the first aspect of the invention, the capture unit is configured to capture at least one engine specification as vehicle information besides the vehicle identification number. This allows in particular traffic rules referring to engine specifications of a vehicle to be taken into consideration for computing the navigation information.
In a further advantageous configuration of the system according to the first aspect of the invention, the interface of the input unit is configured as an input mask of an Internet portal. This is convenient for the vehicle user, since he can enter and/or change the vehicle information of the vehicle at any time at any location.
In a further advantageous configuration of the system according to the first aspect of the invention, the navigation unit has a capture unit. This allows the vehicle user to have the vehicle information captured via the interface directly at the navigation unit in the vehicle. This is done by entering the vehicle information into the capture unit, in particular a user interface, or by reading the vehicle information by means of the capture unit, in particular a camera. Alternatively or additionally, the interface of the capture unit is configured as a reception module that can receive vehicle information wirelessly, in particular by means of a radio signal. This is particularly advantageous if the vehicle information is present on an integrated circuit, in particular a microchip, provided on or in the vehicle, in particular in the license plate of the vehicle, and configured to send the vehicle information to the capture unit by means of a radio signal. This preferred embodiment is particularly convenient for the vehicle user and, moreover, particularly reliable.
The features and advantages described for a system according to the first aspect of the invention apply to a method according to the second aspect of the invention accordingly, and vice versa.
In a preferred configuration of the method for navigating a vehicle, the navigation unit in the vehicle sends to the management unit a request signal to compute and send navigation information that takes into consideration traffic rules referring to vehicle information of the vehicle, whereupon the computation module of the management unit computes the navigation information by taking into consideration the traffic rules referring to vehicle information of the vehicle and sends said navigation information to the navigation unit. This keeps down the demands on the computation power of the navigation appliance, so that inexpensive manufacture is possible. At the same time, it is possible to design the computation module of the management unit in complex fashion and to ensure a high computation power, in particular by means of central updates that need only be performed once. Therefore, the navigation information to be computed can be computed particularly efficiently and quickly by including traffic rules referring to vehicle information.
In a further configuration of the method for navigating a vehicle, the navigation unit in the vehicle sends to the management unit a request for the management unit to send traffic rules stored on the management unit and referring to vehicle information of the vehicle, whereupon the management unit sends traffic rules referring to vehicle information of the vehicle to the navigation unit and the computation module of the navigation unit computes the navigation information by taking into consideration the received traffic rules referring to vehicle information of the vehicle. This keeps down the data traffic between navigation unit and management unit as far as possible, since only single roads affected by traffic rules referring to vehicle information of the vehicle, and the applicable traffic rules, need to be sent to the navigation appliance.
In a further preferred configuration of the method for navigating a vehicle, the navigation unit sends the identification number of the vehicle together with the request. The management unit identifies the traffic rules referring to vehicle information of the vehicle on the basis of the vehicle identification number and then sends said traffic rules to the navigation unit or takes them into consideration to compute navigation information by means of the computation module and subsequently sends said navigation information to the navigation unit.
In a further preferred configuration of the method, current traffic rules referring to vehicle information are stored on the management unit.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one or more preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.